resolving power

American  

noun

1. Optics. the ability of an optical device to produce separate images of close objects.

2. Photography. the degree to which a lens or photographic emulsion is able to define the details of an image.

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resolving power British  

noun

1. Also called: resolution.  physics

   1. the ability of a microscope, telescope, or other optical instrument to produce separate images of closely placed objects

   2. the ability of a spectrometer to separate two adjacent peaks in a spectrum

2. photog the ability of an emulsion to show up fine detail in an image

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Etymology

Origin of resolving power

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

"This is unprecedented and entirely due to Webb's higher resolving power!"

From Science Daily • Nov. 8, 2023

The effective resolving power of each observation was obtained from fits to unsaturated telluric absorption lines and yielded mean values of 4,290, 8,150 and 5,750 in the ultraviolet B, visible and near-infrared arms, respectively.

From Nature • Oct. 15, 2017

The resolving power needed to see at that distance something even of the enormous size of Sagittarius A* therefore requires an extraordinarily large telescope.

From Economist • Jan. 7, 2016

An expression for resolving power is obtained from the Rayleigh criterion.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Finally, the greater theoretical resolving power of the larger aperture, providing it can be utilized, should permit the separation of the members of close double stars beyond the range of the smaller instrument.

From The New Heavens by Hale, George Ellery